Vol 54, No 12 (2016)

The paper reports result of comparative analysis of the distribution of siderophile (Au, Pt, Pd, Co, Ni, and Cr) and chalcophile (Ag, Cd, Sb, Pb, Zn, Cu, As, and S) elements in ultramafic rock samples of various types of abyssal peridotites. One of the objectives of this research was to obtain reference estimates for the concentrations of siderophile and chalcophile elements in the two end members defining the geochemical evolutionary trends of the material of the suboceanic mantle: a sample of insignificantly depleted mantle material (spinel lherzolite) and extensively carbonated serpentinite after harzburgite, which was formed at the “endpoint” of the ascent of mantle material to the seafloor surface. The distribution of siderophile and chalcophile elements is proved to record information on the whole compositional evolution of abyssal peridotites corresponding to the trajectory of their exhumation from mantle depth levels to seafloor outcrops. These data indicate that the bulk-rock compositional parameters of abyssal peridotites can be utilized to estimate the contribution of magmatic and hydrothermal process to the distribution of siderophile and chalcophile elements.

Lithological–facies maps of Eopleistocene and Neopleistocene sediments (with 10 and 20 m isopachs) are compiled for the pelagic part of the Atlantic Ocean based on materials recovered by 283 ocean drilling sites. Data for both maps were calculated using A.B. Ronov’s volumetric method. The calculated results include such quantitative sedimentation parameters of major sediment types as the areas covered by these sediments, their volumes, masses of the dry sedimentary material, and masses of sedimentary material deposited per specified time unit. These parameters are compared for both Eopleistocene and Neopleistocene time, and the data are utilized to separately interpret the results for terrigenous, carbonate, and siliceous sediments. The supply of terrigenous material is proved to have been enhanced in the Pleistocene as a result of both tectonic uplift of continents and climatic changes, including intensification of continental glaciation at high latitudes in both hemispheres. The growth in the productivity of carbonate plankton was overridden by growing generation of bottom and deep water masses and ensuing intensification of the dissolution of pelagic carbonates. The productivity of siliceous plankton practically did not change, perhaps, because of a favorable combination of the supply of dissolved silica and other nutrients from both West and East Antarctica.

In this paper, we analyze the influence of variations in the emission of sulfur dioxide and solid substances by the Pechenganikel and Severonikel copper–nickel plants in Murmansk oblast on the chemical composition of lake water and development of acidification. The dynamics of ~100 lakes examined in 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2009 and response of the chemical composition of the lake waters on the impact of acidifying substances was explored depending on the magnitude of load (distance from the plants), geologically controlled vulnerability of the lake catchments to acid precipitation, and the size of the lakes. Possible further changes in the sulfate concentration and pH values of lake waters were estimated for scenarios assuming an increase or a decrease in sulfur dioxide emission from the plants. It was shown that, in the zone of maximum and high load, a 20% change in sulfur dioxide emission will result in a mean change in sulfate concentration of ±8 μeq/L (which is comparable with the regional background) and a change in pH value of ±0.1 in acid-sensitive lakes and will have almost no effect on these parameters in lakes insensitive to acid precipitation.